The diary wonders what goes through the mind of Councillor Frank McAveety at this time of the year when he looks out of his palatial office overlooking George Square.

For 11 months of the year Cllr McAveety, the leader of Glasgow City Council, enjoys the best office view in the city which takes in the square and the fine Georgian architecture beyond all the way up to Blythswood Square.

In December though, this all changes and the view becomes disfigured by a seasonal car boot sale on stilts masquerading as a Christmas Market. We suppose that somewhere in the world some city has managed to produce a tasteful and edifying Christmas market… but we very much doubt it.

The very term ‘Christmas Market’ conveys a feeling of approaching dread and the aroma of half-cooked meat that we’re all supposed to think is something German or Dutch.

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To be in George Square this week was a dispiriting experience. Once upon a time a Christmas visit here was something magical and charming. The centrepiece was the magnificent manger with the gorgeous figures of The Nativity.

All around it the Square was gently illuminated by its Christmas lights as angels and reindeer flew from lamppost to lamppost. Now, at Christmas time, George Square is a cheap bacchanal, a wretched mess designed for the express purpose of ripping off ordinary Glaswegians with over-priced tat and comestibles swimming in a sludge of grease and fried onions.

The 'straw' reindeer

Now the manger is kept behind a glass and it is made to sit over there towards the south side of the square forgotten and alone. There is simply no room for it in this squalid inn.

Approaching from the east side you are supposed to think that you are happening upon a magical German food and drink festival rising up to meet you in the very centre of Glasgow.

What we encountered first though was the sight of 16 blue and white Port-a-loos butting up against the pillar that bears the statue of Sir Walter Scott. At the other side of this rudimentary public convenience was a helter-skelter which looked like it had been reconstituted from the spare parts of something similar which once perched at Girvan harbour circa 1975.

From then it was onwards and downwards: a stall selling over-priced Santa Claus apparel and another one selling what we took to be straw reindeers for up to £40 a pop. In between these there were interminable rows of wooden troughs selling meatballs; paella, burgers, hot dogs, fudge and crepe.

Given that we were in the centre of the heart attack capital of the world there was something grotesquely appropriate about the fare on offer here.

There was also something called a chocolate kebab, which sounds like an affliction rather than a confection. “After my night of alcoholic excess on the Bacardi Breezers I ended up with a dose of the chocolate kebabs.”

A bizarre three-tiered revolving Nativity edifice sits above a stall selling German sausages. “There came three men from the East selling Holsten, Frankfurters and Bratwurst.” Alongside this was the Merry Monk Beer Bar which looked as enticing as the waiting lounge at Glasgow Airport on Fair Friday just before the last flight to Magaluf.

Here, if you like, you can “hear Seppl, the crazy singing moose”. We decided to postpone that pleasure for another week and we are well and truly howling with it.

And then, on the Square's southern flank, the main attraction: a giant snow globe, in which you can gain ingress and jouk about amidst falling squalls of fake snow. It’s for the kids, you understand but it’s also handily adjacent to several well-known city centre swally-palais and you don’t need us to tell you the script here for the last week of Christmas.

Note to Councillor McAveety: this is an obscenity big man; get it sorted and restore a bit of dignity and reverence to George Square during this holy season.

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Black Sabbath tickets up for grabs

Talking of things holy and revered, it’s time for the Glasgow Diary’s great and exclusive Black Sabbath competition. The UK’s greatest heavy rock band are bringing the curtain down on more than 40 years of metal mayhem with a farewell tour early next year. This includes a date at Glasgow’s SSE Hydro on Tuesday, January 24th .

The Diary has secured tickets for two of the best seats in this magnificent arena for two of our lucky readers. This will be preceded by a pre-concert dinner at one of the top restaurants in the nearby Finnieston arrondissement and the customary refreshments appropriate to the occasion, though the

Glasgow Diary is a member of the Healthy Drinking community.

(Image: Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

To win the tickets just answer the following question. Which one of these is the title of one of Black Sabbath’s most well-known songs?

Fairies Wear Scotland Tops

Fairies Wear Baseball Caps

Fairies Wear Boots

The Closing Date for entries is, January 6, 2017 and the winner will be notified by email. Just send your entries to competitions@GlasgowLive.co.uk and mark it Black Sabbath tickets.

Trinity Mirror terms and conditions apply and all entrants must be over 21.